Caracas

I'm sorry for my bad English!

OK, I'm sorry but I m totally confused.

Britisher you are saying that you visited Venezuela few times before right?

And you are still paying 65$ for hotel room per night?

You still change money in hotel and you do not use black market?

Correct me if I'm wrong but your day cost around 100 $-120 $ if you bang one girl!

One more thing m8 you say you did not bang "non-pro" you trying to say those non-pros are cheaper.

Or I got it wrong?

What I m trying to say is I have a friend who told me different story.

Very simple decent hotel from 5 $-8 $ night with breakfast. Girl from 5 $-15 $.

Depends on the look. Lunch in restaurant 3 $.

Did you go out of the hotel at all?

Me and my m8 are going in Caracas in 2 months we plan.

To stay for 20-25 days.

This is why I m asking this questions how come you spend that amount per day?

One more thing how much did you pay for plane ticket and did you fly from London?

Thanks.

VladXXX,

First thing you need to do is. Pay 20 us $ to Jackson (the owner of this website) to get a paid membership.

And then we discuss your queries.

Adios

[QUOTE=VladXXX;1929480]I'm sorry for my bad English!

OK, I'm sorry but I m totally confused.

Britisher you are saying that you visited Venezuela few times before right?

And you are still paying 65$ for hotel room per night?

You still change money in hotel and you do not use black market?

Correct me if I'm wrong but your day cost around 100 $-120 $ if you bang one girl!

One more thing m8 you say you did not bang "non-pro" you trying to say those non-pros are cheaper.

Or I got it wrong?

What I m trying to say is I have a friend who told me different story.

Very simple decent hotel from 5 $-8 $ night with breakfast. Girl from 5 $-15 $.

Depends on the look. Lunch in restaurant 3 $.

Did you go out of the hotel at all?

Me and my m8 are going in Caracas in 2 months we plan.

To stay for 20-25 days.

This is why I m asking this questions how come you spend that amount per day?

One more thing how much did you pay for plane ticket and did you fly from London?

Thanks.[/QUOTE]Vlad, Take time to read this threat, all answers are here.

[QUOTE=Britisher;1928897]Gentlemen,

I was in Caracas for a week recently. I had a great time. I practiced all the safe things as I would practice in any dodgy city of South America. I am a decent speaker of Spanish. I have been to Venezuela a few times before. Nothing bad or untoward happened to me during my stay.

Hotel. Eurobuilding. I booked it on a international website, online and got a rate of 65 usd a night without breakfast. The hotel itself offers 56000 Bolivars a night, which costs approximately the same. The stay was excellent. I had a great room. Noise free. Internet working fast. Hot water. Daily change of bed sheets and towels. In fact housekeeping was great. The hotel initially charged me 10,000 BS extra when I had the chica but I talked to senior managers and they removed those charges. Main reason being that the hotel was empty. I was probably the only non- South American in the whole hotel! The hotel needs business! Everyone was super polite / super- nice to me at the hotel! (Except one or two security guards who seemed irritated seeing me with different girls quite regularly).

Money Exchange. These days the usd= 1000 BS +/- 50 BS here or there. I got a rate of 950 at some places and a rate of 900 at other places. The more easy one is 900. The rate of 950 is tough to find. The concierge of hotel Eurobuilding offers a rate of 850...[/QUOTE]In what bank were you finally able to open the bank account? A local debit card would be a godsend.

I have been twice to Venezuela this year to open up bank accounts without any luck.

And yes, I miss last years prices!

That Vlad xxx gave you a very good insight into locals prices in Caracas and dismissing him and requiring to pay your monthly fee just to able to discuss such things is bizarre, I thought you can submit a review without being a paid member. However, I have been to Caracas twice and can tell you it is the best place for cheap sex and yes, you can find a cheap room in a hotel that is in safe area for 10-20 bucks a night, just ask any cab driver to take you to one of few safe neighborhoods and most of them will do it. I tried to book a hotel online from NYC and had whole lot of troubles with my credit card, they billed me three times as much as what the room price was. As far as girls situation goes, I had a nice driver that I met the second day there and he would take me to different casa every night, my fav being casa classica in centro, ten bucks for sex and twenty for butt fucking, girls all 7's, 8's and 9's. Food, not so good, good diarrhea the first day I got there, was hungry as hell for ten days eating fruits they sold on the street but all in all it was great as I lost fifteen pounds. Saw armed robbery around plaza Venezuelan from a car, not a pleasant sight at all. Conclusion, I believe finding a good driver that will take you places and wait for you while you do biz is the key in South America.

After a months-long slump, the black market exchange rate has been on the raise in the past weeks, will be interesting if this once again becomes a trend.

By the way, I think it hasn't been mentioned that the highest paying Dollar to Bolivar exchange actually isn't with physical bills, but through electronic transfers. This makes sense, since having dollar bills nowadays doesn't have that many uses (as travelling abroad has become difficult to many Venezuelans) and actually is a potential risk. For example, this past Friday the Dollar Today website quoted an exchange rate of BS. 1167 per dollar (and the street price using bills is always less than that), but with a contact in Facebook I got a price of 1200 using the e-money service Neteller. The only problem is that this has a limited use for a tourist, since you would need a venezuelan bank account to get the bolivares.

Dolartoday quotes 1 $ as 1567 BsF.

Is there some specific reason for this huge rise or is it just accumulated shit hitting the fan?

[QUOTE=Mlatimudan;1957147]Dolartoday quotes 1 $ as 1567 BsF.

Is there some specific reason for this huge rise or is it just accumulated shit hitting the fan?[/QUOTE]Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro promises workers a 40 percent rise in the minimum wage.

[URL]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4zfodg[/URL]

The raise of the minimum wage is just one factor, and not even the most important. Like Mlatimudan correctly guessed, it's just shit finally hitting the fan HARD. A lot of things have happened here in the past weeks that really don't help the country's political and economic stability.

Here is a general rundown:

- Unified opposition (the MUD, "Mesa de la Unidad Democratica", or Democratic Unity Roundtable) to the government put everything in place to request the constitutional refferendum that will oust pres. Maduro from power.

- Electoral power (which is in government's hands) stalls time, since the constitution says that if the refferendum is done after the president finishes one half of his term, we get no new elections and the VP becomes the president for the rest of the term (which means, nothing really changes for the next years).

- After a while, they more or less say "OK, you will get your refferendum. Next year of course, after the presidential mid-term. Also, the country-wide election of governors and mayors that the opposition more or less has in the bag? Forget about it for the time being".

- MUD go apeshit, because seriously, what the hell. A massive public protest happens in Caracas. The government doesn't give a damn.

- suddendly, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (the head of the judicial power here in Venezuela, and also entirely controlled by the government) barges in, and declares the Refferendum suspended until new notice, because hey, why not?

- MUD again goes apeshit, the leaders summon an emrgency meeting at the senate, which is the only branch that isn't owned by the government. Many points are made, until the senate is taken over by a mob of hostile government supporters.

- A one-day national strike is called, and people are summoned for this Nov 3 to protest in Caracas, the "March to Miraflores" that was supposed to be their final push.

- MUD tries to once again to bring up the issue of the very dubious nationality of Pres. Maduro, a matter that has been going unresolved for a while.

- Supreme Tribunal of Justice promptly and supported by no proof at all, sentences that Maduro is entirely Venezuelan and that the MUD better shut up. Hilariously, the Tribunal declares that Maduro was born in an *entirely* different part of Venezuela than where Madure himself claims he was born.

- Suddendly, the MUD announces that they are going to enter an inexplicable dialogue process with the government. Many opposition leaders react with surprise, and say they weren't notified of such a thing, and heard about it in the TV. Of course, many people see this as a very suspicious move.

- First meeting happens, the result being the liberation of a handful of nor really that relevant political prisioners, and the MUD calling out the March that was going to happen tomorrow.

- A *lot* of people in the streets are really angry at the MUD, many calling it an act of treachery.

- Oh, and yesterday the President Maduro publicly called Voluntad Popular (the political party lead by Leopoldo Lopez, the opposition leader than has been locked in a military prision for over two years) as terrorists, and ordered the opposition senate members to be investigated as conspirators.

And that's just some major points from the past few weeks.

Also, there is also another factor, December approaches fast and the local commerce lacks any sort of legal access to american currency in order to import goods and have stock available for the shopping season, thus the demand that has been low for months (for the reasons that I already commented in mys other post) has reactivated.

You know, I wouldn't be too surprised if by the end of the next week, we reach the $1 = BsF. 2000 mark.

Now this is something unexpected. I'm in the midst of negotiating with a foreign company to live and work in Caracas. They will provide housing which I assume will be in a "safer" neighborhood. What concerns me is the fact that they will be paying me in part in BsF and in part in $. They skirt around the issue whether or not the BsF part is fixed or in relation to a $ equivalent.

I am interested in visiting Caracas.

However the money exchange thing bothers me. It also leaves me with questions. To get the best exchange rate do you need to wire money from the USA to a Venezuelan bank account? I obviously don't have one or know anybody in Venezuela.

Lets say I get off the plane with $1 K in cash. Are there cambios all over the city or do I need to visit a bank? How time consuming is it? Will my American ATM card work in the machines, What about my credit card?

From what I've read if you get the money exchange together Venezuela can be a super cheap tourist destination. According to different back packer blogs (I am not one of them) the frugal traveler is living it up on the caribbean coast for a pittance since tourism is so low.

Will I have trouble buying food? Do hotels accept reservations made online? Internet access?

I'd just like a basic summary of what to expect.

I have a budget of $1,400 per month for lodging and $125 a day for food drink and pfp.

I have read this thread. Great commentary. Thanks. I'd just like someone to break it down in a few sentences and give me a general view of the situation.

Thanks.

[QUOTE=Artisttyp;1960989]To get the best exchange rate do you need to wire money from the USA to a Venezuelan bank account? I obviously don't have one or know anybody in Venezuela.
[/QUOTE]No, terrible idea. By doing so, you will have your dollars exchanged by the official rate, which is 1/3 of what you currently get in the black market, which deals with either physical bills, or using e-cash services like Paypal, Neteller, Skrill, etc.

[QUOTE=Artisttyp;1960989]Are there cambios all over the city or do I need to visit a bank? How time consuming is it? Will my American ATM card work in the machines, What about my credit card?[/QUOTE]Nope. Again, going to a bank or a legal "casa de cambio" will net you the official exchange rate. Nobody does that. Some goes to your cards, they will work, but it isn't what would you want to do.

[QUOTE=Artisttyp;1960989] Will I have trouble buying food? Do hotels accept reservations made online? Internet access?[/QUOTE]If you have enough cash, you won't have problems. About the hotel booking, consider that due some very recently passed laws, hotels MUST charge tourists in dollars (usually via credit card), so the lodging is the one aspect where the official exchange rate is unavoidable. Perhaps you could make some other arrangements by speaking directly to the management, but I can't say for sure. And of course we do have internet access, Venezuela is doing bad, but not THAT bad, heh.

[QUOTE=Artisttyp;1960989] I'd just like a basic summary of what to expect.[/QUOTE]Tons of people are buying dollars, the exchange black market is a real good bussiness for a Venezuelan with enough capital, because the american currency is almost always in the rise.

The moment you step out the plane, odds are you will be approached by some rather suspicious individuals offering to exchange your $$ Avoid them like the plague, at best you will obtain a much lower rate than the real street price, and at worst you will get scammed. If you want to have some cash at hand to pay for some food at the airport or for the taxi fare, you can try asking (in a discrete manner) in any of the duty free shops. Again, you will get a lower exchange rate, but the odds of getting scammed are less, since those stores won't want any trouble. Bear in mind that the black market exchange is illegal and thus if you do get scammed, you are on your own. You can also ask at your hotel, it's 99% sure that the hotel personnel can help you to contact a good exchanger, if they don't buy dollars themselves. Any good hotel has their own interal service of taxi cabs, and the drivers are a good source of info, they usually do know somebody who offers good exchange rates. If you can find a local contact beforehand that can help you would be ideal (earlier in this year I did help a group of people from this forum who came to a fishing trip to Los Roques, and fortunately almost everything went smoothly), but with minimal care and common sense you can exchange dollars without problems.

[URL]https://twitter.com/dolartoday[/URL] is what you need to follow to know the up-to-date price for the dollar. Is a bit sad to say it, but that little twitter account is what steers a big part of the Venezuelan economy. Bear in mind that the price they quote does not exactly reflect the street price, expect as low as 100 Bolivares less if you exchange using physical dollar bills. They do quote an exchange rate for Euros, and some people do buy that currency, but it's easier to deal with Dollars.

[QUOTE=Artisttyp;1960989] I have a budget of $1,400 per month for lodging and $125 a day for food drink and pfp.[/QUOTE]That's more than enough, believe me.

[QUOTE=MaraCucho;1961146]No, terrible idea. By doing so, you will have your dollars exchanged by the official rate, which is 1/3 of what you currently get in the black market, which deals with either physical bills, or using e-cash services like Paypal, Neteller, Skrill, etc.

Nope. Again, going to a bank or a legal "casa de cambio" will net you the official exchange rate. Nobody does that. Some goes to your cards, they will work, but it isn't what would you want to do.

If you have enough cash, you won't have problems. About the hotel booking, consider that due some very recently passed laws, hotels MUST charge tourists in dollars (usually via credit card), so the lodging is the one aspect where the official exchange rate is unavoidable. Perhaps you could make some other arrangements by speaking directly to the management, but I can't say for sure. And of course we do have internet access, Venezuela is doing bad, but not THAT bad, heh.

Tons of people are buying dollars, the exchange black market is a real good bussiness for a Venezuelan with enough capital, because the american currency is almost always in the rise.

The moment you step out the plane, odds are you will be approached by some rather suspicious individuals offering to exchange your $$ Avoid them like the plague, at best you will obtain a much lower rate than the real street price, and at worst you will get scammed. If you want to have some cash at hand to pay for some food at the airport or for the taxi fare, you can try asking (in a discrete manner) in any of the duty free shops. Again, you will get a lower exchange rate, but the odds of getting scammed are less, since those stores won't want any trouble. Bear in mind that the black market exchange is illegal and thus if you do get scammed, you are on your own. You can also ask at your hotel, it's 99% sure that the hotel personnel can help you to contact a good exchanger, if they don't buy dollars themselves. Any good hotel has their own interal service of taxi cabs, and the drivers are a good source of info, they usually do know somebody who offers good exchange rates. If you can find a local contact beforehand that can help you would be ideal (earlier in this year I did help a group of people from this forum who came to a fishing trip to Los Roques, and fortunately almost everything went smoothly), but with minimal care and common sense you can exchange dollars without problems.

[URL]https://twitter.com/dolartoday[/URL] is what you need to follow to know the up-to-date price for the dollar. Is a bit sad to say it, but that little twitter account is what steers a big part of the Venezuelan economy. Bear in mind that the price they quote does not exactly reflect the street price, expect as low as 100 Bolivares less if you exchange using physical dollar bills. They do quote an exchange rate for Euros, and some people do buy that currency, but it's easier to deal with Dollars.

That's more than enough, believe me.[/QUOTE]Good Post on Money Matters. Thank You.

Do bills have to be in perfect condition or do locals accepts dollars that may have *slight imperfections? It is like pulling teeth these days trying to withdraw "clean" bills from my bank.

It seems like the wise thing to do would be to bring all your vacation money in cash. That is also a very insecure thing to have to do. If I decide to go 50/50 (bring cash / use ATM) is it going to increase my trip cost by 50 % ? There seems to be a huge disparity between the rates. Is Visa is widely accepted?

As far as PFP and general entertainment is concerned:

Are there obvious red light districts in Caracas with short term hotels? Local brothels perhaps? Can you give me an idea about pricing and services offered / not offered? I am rather street savy with a good many years of monger travel under my belt. Spanish is not an issue for me.

Is there a nightlife scene or do people stay indoors like Central America?

What part of the city would be the most strategic location for entertainment needs?

You mentioned that the fishing trip went well for the most part. If you don't mind me asking what went wrong?

Thanks so much for your help.

[QUOTE=Artisttyp;1961193]
Do bills have to be in perfect condition or do locals accepts dollars that may have *slight imperfections? [/QUOTE]I can't say for sure, but I doubt any exchanger will be that picky.

[QUOTE=Artisttyp;1961193] It seems like the wise thing to do would be to bring all your vacation money in cash. That is also a very insecure thing to have to do. If I decide to go 50/50 (bring cash / use ATM) is it going to increase my trip cost by 50 % ? There seems to be a huge disparity between the rates. Is Visa is widely accepted? [/QUOTE]Yes, it would be ideal to do it all in cash, but also yes, that would be very unsafe too. Unfortunately prices will skyrocket quickly if you pay using the official exchange rates, no way around that. One thing I would recommend if possible is to setup things with an exchanger before traveling here, many people in that business can accept Paypal and similar services, and in fact many preffer receiving the cash that way. Again, I can't say for sure, but from what I understand many hotels do offer that service "under the table" to the tourists, of course offering a bit lower exchange rates than normal. I'd say, ask discretely to the hotel management while booking a room.

The group of tourists I mentioned before, that for the most part was my function. They had american currency with them and I did exchange some sums in physical bills (at the hotel, I just asked the bellboy and he was all like "But of course!) But for the day-to-day expenses they would send me some dollars via Paypal, I would send those to the exchanger I work with, receive the amount of Bolivares to my bank account, and I paid for their stuff using my debit card.

And yes, Visa is accepted in most stores.

[QUOTE=Artisttyp;1961193]
Are there obvious red light districts in Caracas with short term hotels? Local brothels perhaps? Can you give me an idea about pricing and services offered / not offered? I am rather street savy with a good many years of monger travel under my belt. Spanish is not an issue for me.

Is there a nightlife scene or do people stay indoors like Central America?

What part of the city would be the most strategic location for entertainment needs?
[/QUOTE]The El Rosal sector in Caracas is where most of the good Motels and short term Hotels are located. There are others, but El Rosal is the safest and the one with the nicer places.

Caracas has plenty of night time activities for mongering purposes, but it is obviously all indoors stuff. I don't recommend to be caught by the sunset walking the streets of Caracas, and hell, even in the middle of the day you have to be watchful. Caracas is not a safe place, simple as that. I would highly recommend making a contact with one of the cab drivers at the hotel, grab his mobile number and let him take you around.

To get a good idea of the girls you may find in Caracas, take a look at these two websites: [URL]www.sexycaracas.com[/URL] and [URL]www.tus-fantasias.com[/URL]. There are also tons of agencies and independent girls announcing their services in Twitter. As for prices, an hour with a good looking girl will cost you (using the current exchange prices) between 10-15 dollars. If you want a REAL looker, a 9/10 model type, 25-35 for an hour, perhaps a bit more depending of where you get her. A piece of advice: don't ever offer to pay in dollars to the girls, they will ask for more than the rates they charge in Bolivares.

[QUOTE=Artisttyp;1961193] You mentioned that the fishing trip went well for the most part. If you don't mind me asking what went wrong?[/QUOTE]Well, two things. First off, the travel agency messed up the payment for some of the plane tickets to LOS Roques, so I had to spend two days fighting over the phone with a very uncooperative lady, while the rest were having fun. That part sucked for me, but was eventually resolved.

Secondly, I understand that they had some some issues with a credit card charge they didn't make, and were filling for fraud. Fortunately I had nothing to do with that, as I made a point to avoid having any contact with that sort of info. Which actually is a fair warning I should make: Try to not use your credit cards unless it is strictly necessary. I am not even talking about the matter of the exchange rates, but that an international credit card is simply too much temptation for some people. The risk of your card getting in the hands of a store clerk with low morals is always there, even if the place looks good and trustworthy.

[QUOTE=MaraCucho;1961227]I can't say for sure, but I doubt any exchanger will be that picky.

Yes, it would be ideal to do it all in cash, but also yes, that would be very unsafe too. Unfortunately prices will skyrocket quickly if you pay using the official exchange rates, no way around that. One thing I would recommend if possible is to setup things with an exchanger before traveling here, many people in that business can accept Paypal and similar services, and in fact many preffer receiving the cash that way. Again, I can't say for sure, but from what I understand many hotels do offer that service "under the table" to the tourists, of course offering a bit lower exchange rates than normal. I'd say, ask discretely to the hotel management while booking a room.

The group of tourists I mentioned before, that for the most part was my function. They had american currency with them and I did exchange some sums in physical bills (at the hotel, I just asked the bellboy and he was all like "But of course!) But for the day-to-day expenses they would send me some dollars via Paypal, I would send those to the exchanger I work with, receive the amount of Bolivares to my bank account, and I paid for their stuff using my debit card.

And yes, Visa is accepted in most stores.

The El Rosal sector in Caracas is where most of the good Motels and short term Hotels are located. There are others, but El Rosal is the safest and the one with the nicer places.

Caracas has plenty of night time activities for mongering purposes, but it is obviously all indoors stuff. I don't recommend to be caught by the sunset walking the streets of Caracas, and hell, even in the middle of the day you have to be watchful. Caracas is not a safe place, simple as that. I would highly recommend making a contact with one of the cab drivers at the hotel, grab his mobile number and let him take you around.

To get a good idea of the girls you may find in Caracas, take a look at these two websites: [URL]www.sexycaracas.com[/URL] and [URL]www.tus-fantasias.com[/URL]. There are also tons of agencies and independent girls announcing their services in Twitter. As for prices, an hour with a good looking girl will cost you (using the current exchange prices) between 10-15 dollars. If you want a REAL looker, a 9/10 model type, 25-35 for an hour, perhaps a bit more depending of where you get her. A piece of advice: don't ever offer to pay in dollars to the girls, they will ask for more than the rates they charge in Bolivares.

Well, two things. First off, the travel agency messed up the payment for some of the plane tickets to LOS Roques, so I had to spend two days fighting over the phone with a very uncooperative lady, while the rest were having fun. That part sucked for me, but was eventually resolved.

Secondly, I understand that they had some some issues with a credit card charge they didn't make, and were filling for fraud. Fortunately I had nothing to do with that, as I made a point to avoid having any contact with that sort of info. Which actually is a fair warning I should make: Try to not use your credit cards unless it is strictly necessary. I am not even talking about the matter of the exchange rates, but that an international credit card is simply too much temptation for some people. The risk of your card getting in the hands of a store clerk with low morals is always there, even if the place looks good and trustworthy.[/QUOTE]Valuable Information.

I think many forum members will find it extremely helpful.

Thank You for your effort.